Good News

I just got off the phone with Ben and he let out the exciting news; he’ll be home this afternoon! They’re just dosing him up with another drip full of drugs, feeding him some grub and then as soon as Janyne arrives he’s out of there!

Whilst on the phone I also got an opportunity to probe into the swap from Cyclosporin to Tacrolimus (see: Hello Tacrolimus). It turns out that Ben’s kidney function had been deteriorating recently, with his blood/sugar levels being close to that of a Diabetes sufferer. To combat this they’ve moved him to Tacrolimus, the main immunosuppressant used in Kidney Transplants, in hope it’ll reverse the effects. It’s only been a day but Ben’s feeling a lot better after the swap, commenting that he isn’t “feeling as nauseous” as before.

The doctors have blamed this recent bout of rejection & infection on ‘reflux’. I don’t know the specifics but I’d suggest that it has something to do with acid regurgitation from the stomach to the lungs (read more here & here). He was of course due to have that operation today however, due to this current setback and the fact the Surgeon is going on holidays shortly it won’t be until early March. The sooner the better I say.

Another blood test scheduled for tomorrow morning will reveal if anything else is abnormal. Luckily he can get that done remotely, rather than having to go into hospital again. Let’s hope its all clear! Although he doesn’t shutup about how beautiful the nurses are he tells me he really doesn’t enjoy being there!


Paul.